Sunday, August 31, 2014

Alejandro Landa defeated Jake Bredenbeck, 15-10, 15-10, in a hard fought final to win the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Juarez Open in Juarez, Mexico Sunday.

Landa started well, going out to a 7-0 lead in game one, and looked like he would just run away with the final. However, Bredenbeck dug in a ran off nine unanswered points to lead 9-7. But Landa held the tall American at nine, as he retook the lead 12-9.

Bredenbeck got one more point before Landa closed out the game 15-10. Both players primarily drove serve with lob serves used primarily on second serve.

Game two started the same as game one, as Landa took a 5-0 lead. Again Bredenbeck worked his way back into the game, tying the score at 9-9 and going ahead 10-9, as Landa was on a streak of skipped shots.

But once again, Landa stopped Bredenbeck's scoring, in this case by stopping his errors, and pushed on to win the game, 15-10, and match in two straight games.

It's a good win for Landa, but consider Bredenbeck's progress over the past year. He won the US Team Qualifying Division at the USA Racquetball Nationals, which got him a spot on Team USA for the Pan American Sports Organization Sports Festival earlier this month in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he earned a bronze medal in Men's Singles and a silver medal in Men's Doubles, with Jose Diaz, took Rocky Carson to a tie-breaker in Garden City during the last International Racquetball Tour (IRT) season, and now has been a runner-up in two WRT events.

Jake Bredenbeck may not have been on anyone's list of players to watch twelve months ago, but he should be on everyone's list now.

The next WRT event is next weekend September 5-7 in Stockton, California for the Port City Shootout.

Only one small upset in the quarterfinals and semi-finals Saturday at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Juarez Open in Juarez, Mexico, as Jake Bredenbeck and Alejandro Landa worked their way to Sunday's final.

Bredenbeck, the 8th seed, took out Coby Iwaasa in the quarters, 15-5, 15-7, and then beat fellow American David Horn in a tie-breaker, 13-15, 15-8, 11-4, which was a slight upset as Horn was the 5th seed.

Sixth seed Landa came through the bottom of the draw, defeating Gerardo Guevara, 15-3, 15-7, in the quarterfinals, and 7th seed Javier Moreno in the semi-finals, 15-7, 15-13.

Bredenbeck will play in his second consecutive WRT final Sunday, as he was also a finalist in the Chile Open, where he lost to Polo Gutierrez.

The final will be noon MDT on Sunday, and can be viewed via the Gearbox website.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

The top four seeds fell by the wayside Friday at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Juarez Open in Juarez, Mexico. The top seed, Polo Gutierrez, lost out earlier on Friday, in the Round of 32, and Friday night the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds followed him out of the tournament.

Second seed Alejandro Cardona lost to Andree Parrilla, 7-15, 15-6, 11-7, in the Round of 16. Cardona got the first two points of the tie-breaker against the current U16 World Junior Champion. But then Parrilla ran off six straight points to lead 6-2.

Cardona tied it at 6-6, but Parrilla regained the serve and drove serve to get to 9-6, including a crack ace off the left wall for the ninth point.

Cardona was able to get one back, but Parrilla won the breaker, 11-7, to move on to the quarterfinals.

But the most competitive match of the night might have been between 5th seed David Horn and 12th seed Fernando Rios. Rios won game one and Horn game two, which set up an exciting tie-breaker.

In the breaker, Rios quickly got the first four points, leading Horn to take a timeout. Rios continued to lead at 6-2, but then Horn scored eight points in a row using an off speed drive serve to the left side.

That seemed to be game over, but Cardona dug in and held off three match points as he came back to tie the game at 10-10. Cardona served for the match, and on the ensuing rally the ball went into the back left corner. Cardona went back for it and as he turned around shot the ball to the front wall, but it skipped.

That gave Horn his fourth match point, and he hit another off speed drive serve to the left that cracked out, bouncing twice before Rios could reach it, for an 11-10 tie-breaker win.

The quarterfinals begin at 10 AM MDT Saturday with the semi-finals to follow Saturday night and the final at noon on Sunday. Matches can be viewed via the Gearbox website.

Friday, August 29, 2014

There's one of the largest draws outside of the US Open at this weekend's 2014 World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Juarez Open in Juarez, Mexico, where 54 players were in the draw. And right off the hop there were upsets.

But the biggest upset came in the Round of 32, when Roland Keller defeated #1 seed Polo Gutierrez, 15-10, 1-15, 11-7. Keller will play Coby Iwaasa in the Round of 16 Friday night, as Iwaasa defeated Daniel Neri, 15-8, 15-8, in the 32s.

Javier Mar, the 45th seed, is another upset winner through to the 16 after defeating 20th seed Sebastian Franco in the 64s, 9-15, 15-12, 11-5, and Kurtis Cullen in the 32s, 15-2, 15-2.

Mar will play 4th seed Gilberto Mejia in the 16s, as Mejia defeated Kadim Carrasco, 15-10, 15-5, in the 32s.

Finally, two young Mexican players have made the 16s. Cristian Longoria, the younger brother of Paola Longoria, got there with a win over 10th seed Jaime Martell, 15-12, 15-13, and will play veteran left-hander Javier Moreno.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Paola Longoria was a double winner Sunday at the tournament that bears her name: the Torneo Fenapo 2014 Paola Longoria in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which is the first event of the 2014-15 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season, as she won both singles and doubles.

In the singles final, Longoria defeated Maria Jose Vargas, 11-6, 12-10, 11-2, but it could have turned out differently if Vargas's comeback in game two was successful. Longoria led 8-1 and 10-3, but Vargas came back to tie the game at 10-10, but she wasn't able to get the lead against the LPRT's #1 player.

Vargas did lead in game three, but after scoring the first two points of the game, Longoria scored eleven straight to take the match in three straight games. The win extends Longoria's tournament winning streak that began in May 2011. She's won 33 Tier 1 or Grand Slam events on the women's pro tour.

Longoria and Samantha Salas defeated 5th seeds Michelle Key and Frédérique Lambert in the doubles final, but they had to come from a game down against the American-Canadian pair, who won the first game comfortably. But the reigning three time World Champions prevailed, 4-15, 15-10, 11-4.

The live streaming of the matches was spotty, to say the least, but the matches are archived at the LPRT Network, so you can see how things played out in San Luis Potosi. The next Grand Slam LPRT event will be the Albiertos Mexicano de Racquetas in Huixquilica, Mexico September 18-21, but the 3 Wall Ball World Championship in Las Vegas from September 11-14 is a LPRT satellite event.

Paola Longoria and Maria Jose Vargas will face off in the final of the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Torneo Fenapo 2014 Paola Longoria in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on Sunday night. Longoria will be going for her 32nd tournament win in a row, while Vargas is trying to win her first.

Longoria reached the final by defeated fourth seed Samantha Salas, 11-9, 11-9, 11-5, in the semi-finals. Salas played well, and had a 7-0 lead in game one, but could not close out the game as Longoria fought her way back into it.

In the other semi, Vargas beat second seed Rhonda Rajsich, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-3, to reach her second consecutive final. Vargas has been in the finals four of the last seven LPRT tournaments.

Longoria could be a double winner on Sunday, as she and Salas are in the doubles final as well after they defeated Susana Acosta and Jessica Parrilla, 15-12, 15-7, in the semi-finals on Saturday.

But their opponents won't be Rajsich and Vargas, who were the top seeds, as they were upset by 5th seeds Michelle Key and Frédérique Lambert, 10-15, 15-9, 11-2, in the other semi.

There been some technical issues with the live feed on the LPRT Network, but they will have both finals live on Sunday, but note the times: noon for the doubles and 8 PM for the singles.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

There have been no upsets with three of the four quarterfinals completed at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) Torneo Fenapo 2014 Paola Longoria in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Second seed Rhonda Rajsich ended the nice run of Kimberly Irons by defeating her in the quarters, 11-2, 11-1, 11-8.

Rajsich will play 3rd seed Maria Jose Vargas in the semi-finals Saturday, as Vargas survived a five game match with Frédérique Lambert, winning 11-4, 4-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3.

Also, they are playing doubles in San Luis Potosi, and there will be two quarterfinal matches this afternoon leading to the semi-finals tonight. Fourth seeds Sofia Rascon and Lucia Gonzalez will play fifth seeds Lambert and Michelle Key, and third seeds Susana Acosta and Jessica Parilla will face sixth seeds Sotomayor and Muñoz.

There been some technical issues with the LPRT Network, but they should have the semi-finals live for you tonight beginning at 7 PM CDT.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Kimberly Irons had another big upset win at the Torneo Fenapo 2014 Paola Longoria in San Luis Potosi, Mexico - the first event of the 2014-15 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season - as she defeated veteran Cheryl Gudinas, 8-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, in the Round of 16.

The win puts Irons in the quarterfinals for the first time in her career. The 2007 USA Intercollegiate Champion, Irons has not played the pro tour very often, but she has beaten some tour players in the Open division, including winning the Women's Open earlier this year at eh Cinncinati Tour For Hope event, where she defeated Kelly Gremley, Sharon Jackson, Kerri Wachtel and Maiko Sato.

No other upsets in the Round of 16, although Sofia Rascon did force Frédérique Lambert to five games after they played extra points in the fourth game. But Lambert prevailed, 3-11, 11-3, 11-8, 13-15, 11-5, in what was a battle of bronze medalists from the Pan American Sports Organization Sports Festival held earlier this month.

The quarterfinals begin Saturday morning at 9 AM CDT. The quarterfinals on will be webcast live over the LPRT Network, and can be viewed for free.

The 2014-15 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season began today with the Torneo Fenapo 2014 Paola Longoria in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and it didn't take long for upsets to occur, as two top 10 seeds lost in the Round of 32.

Sotomayor had one of the other dramatic matches in the 32s, as she had to come back from 0-2 down to defeat Lucia Gonzalez, 2-11, 2-11, 11-2, 11-5, 11-7. Michelle Key was in the same position against Jessica Parrilla, but also came back to win in five games, 6-11, 2-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-8.

The Round of 16 will be later on Friday with the quarterfinals beginning Saturday morning at 9 AM. The quarterfinals on will be webcast live over the LPRT Network, and can be viewed for free.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

The history of racquetball has not been well documented, and this is true even for the professional tours. Here at The Racquetball Blog we've been trying to put together a complete list of results for the women's professional racquetball tour, which has had various names - WPRA, WIRT, LPRA, WPRO and currently LPRT.

But it's been difficult. Sometimes even when we've found articles for tournaments, the report has failed to mention scores for the matches, which is the second most important piece of information about a match after the knowing which player won.

From what we have found to date, we have the following table of players with the most wins on the women's pro tour. If you want to talk about who are the best women's racquetball players of all time, these are the players that need to be in the discussion.

Women's Professional Racquetball Career Records (unofficial)
(players in italics still active)

Notes: Win % is for final matches only (Win % = wins / wins + 2nds). Total = (Wins + 2nds + SF + QF), not total tournaments played as players may have lost prior to reaching the quarter finals.

As you can see, Paola Longoria and Lynn Adams are tied with 45 wins a piece, so if Longoria wins this weekend she could be the winningest player in women's pro racquetball history. "Could be" because we're unsure of how many tour wins Adams had.

We do know that when Adams was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame is cited her winning 325 of 369 matches, but where that information comes from is a mystery. Also, Adams won a DP Nationals in the mid-80s that was a big money tournament with all the best players, but it doesn't seem like that was part of the pro tour at that time, so it's not included in the above total. There may have been other events like that.

Thus, our records aren't complete. For example, we're not sure what happened in the 1989-90 season, when Adams would have been at her peak.

Obvious from the table is how many tournaments Cheryl Gudinas and Rhonda Rajsich have played. Of course, this is a product of their longevity in the sport and also that there have been generally more tournaments per season since 2000, than there were prior to 2000.

Also, Michelle Gould's winning percentage of 95.6 is phenomenal. According to the records we've found, Gould only lost twice in the finals. Curiously, both of the losses were to Marci Drexler.

It might seem strange to cut the list at nine players, but these are the players who have double digit win totals. THe next most wins is Peggy Steding with seven. Other women with multiple wins on tour are Caryn McKinney (6), Dexler (5), Kerri Wachtel (4), Janell Marriott (2) and Malia Bailey (2).

History is made every moment of every day, but the history that could be made this weekend with a win by Longoria could be a little more special than usual.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The 2014-15 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season begins this weekend with the Torneo Fenapo 2014 Paola Longoria in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Twenty eight players are in the field including the top 6 ranked players and 16 of the top 20.

A field of 28 means the top four seeds receive byes in the Round of 32, so Paola Longoria, Rhonda Rajsich, Maria Jose Vargas and Samantha Salas - the number 1-4 seeds, respectively - won't have to play in round one. However, the LPRT was more competitive last season than at any time in recent years, and that should continue this season.

The competitiveness should start this weekend, as the draw has several interesting matches. For example, it looks like Michelle Key and Jessica Parrilla will face off in the 32s with the winner to play Salas in the 16s. Also, veterans Susana Acosta and Cheryl Gudinas will play into each other, as will young players Frédérique Lambert and Sofia Rascon, who were the bronze medalists from the Pan American Sport Organization Sports Festival event last week in Guadalajara.

Lambert and Rascon will be in Vargas's quarter of the draw, while Acosta and Gudinas are in Rajsich's. Veronica Sotomayor and Da'monique Davis are in Longoria's quarter, but both need to beat one of the good young Mexican players in Alexandra Herrera (for Davis) and Lucia Gonzalez (for Sotomayor). Finally, Cristina Amaya and Maria Paz Muñoz are in the same quarter as Salas.

The Torneo Fenapo is a Grand Slam event, which is part of reason for the size and depth of the field. It's a great way to start of the season.

There's also a doubles event this weekend with 12 teams, including some of the best LPRT players. We've done a draw for that based on the sum of each team's LPRT ranking.

Rhonda Rajsich and Maria Jose Vargas are the top seeds with Paola Longoria and Samantha Salas, the current Women's Doubles World Champions, as the second seeds.

Some of the other top pairings are Veronica Sotomayor and Maria Paz Muñoz - bronze medalists at this year's World Championships, Frédérique Lambert with Michelle Key, Susana Acosta with Jessica Parrilla, and Cristina Amaya with Carla Muñoz.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Before the 2014-15 Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season starts, let's review the 2013-14 LPRT season. You likely haven't forgotten that Paola Longoria was undefeated last season, and that was her third consecutive undefeated season. This begs the question: will she lose this season?

Longoria was forced to a tie-breaker in the finals of the last two LPRT events last season (once by Rhonda Rajsich and once by Maria Jose Vargas) while she was winning finals in three straight games early in the season. Also, last year saw several good young players, such as Vargas, play regularly on tour - helped in part by the LPRT Scholarship program - and that raised the level of competitiveness of the tour and should continue to do so this season.

However, we don't recommend betting against the favourite. Ever, really.

Greatest ever?

In the men's game, people often talk about Kane Waselenchuk, the current #1 player, in the context of the greatest players ever, but that hasn't happened much in the women's game, which is kind of strange. Perhaps the reason is that the players Waselenchuk is compared to - Cliff Swain and Sudsy Monchik - were active relatively recently (the late 90s and early 2000s), while the players we'd want to compare Longoria to - Lynn Adams, Heather McKay and Michelle Gould - played longer ago.

Some of the other elite women players who have been active since 2000 should also be in the "Best Ever" discussion. Players like Jackie Paraiso, Cheryl Gudinas, Christie Van Hees and Rajsich. Longoria's competed against all of them and undoubtedly has a winning record against them.

However, Longoria has come along at a time when the elite players were aging. Consider the top 5 players in each of the five women's pro seasons prior to last season. Of the twenty five slots, players under 30 years old and not name Longoria occupied only five of those slots (20%). Those five slots were shared by three players: Samantha Salas (2), Adrienne Haynes (2) and Kristen Bellows, yet in their careers those three players have only been to a few finals. Salas and Bellow have played in five pro finals and each has one once. Fisher has only been in one final in her career. In comparison, Rajsich has been a finalist 70 times and Gudinas 78.

It's always difficult to answer the "All Time Best" question, but it's perhaps even more difficult to put Longoria's accomplishments in an overall context than usual.

One thing is certain: Longoria's beating everyone she faces.

Statistical Abstract

There were 296 LPRT matches last season, which was up from 249 in 2012-13 and 171 in 2011-12. We've got a run down of some stats from those matches below.

The first thing to note is that last season was more competitive than past seasons, as 22 players made the quarter finals or better last season compared with 19 the year before and 13 in 2011-12.

From the curiosity department: Frédérique Lambert was on the winning and losing side in matches with the smallest difference in total points between match winner & loser. She defeated Sharon Jackson despite having ten fewer points, 3-11, 11-8, 11-7, 0-11, 11-9 to win in Stockton, but also lost in Miami against Jordan Cooperrider, 2-11, 11-5, 2-11, 11-9, 11-9, although she scored eight more points.

Most Points in a match:102 by Susana Acosta & Janel Tisinger at US Open, where Acosta won 11-13, 8-11, 12-10, 11-4, 12-102nd Most Points in a match:98 by Cristina Amaya & Cheryl Gudinas at Christmas Classic, where Amaya won 12-14, 9-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7

Most Points in a win:54 (i) Susana Acosta against Janel Tisinger at US Open & (ii) Cristina Amaya against Cheryl Gudinas at Christmas Classic 2nd Most Points in a win:53 - Aubrey Kirch against Janel Tisinger at Reseda, Calif.

Most Points in a loss:50 by Michelle Key versus Aubrey Kirch at New Jersey Open 2nd Most Points in a loss:48 by (i) Janel Tisinger versus Susana Acosta at US Open, (ii) Jennifer Saunders versus Aubrey Kirch at US Open

Monday, August 11, 2014

The 2014-15 Ladies Pro Racquetball Tour (LPRT) season starts this weekend, and it's scheduled to be the largest women's professional season ever as there will be 14 Grand Slam or Tier 1 events. There have been 12 events in seasons past, including last season as well as 2002-03 and 2001-02, 1996-97. But 14 events is a first.

The expansion can be explained by the popularity of Paola Longoria, the LPRT's number 1 player, in her home country of Mexico (she has almost 100,000 followers on Twitter). Four of the first six events this season will be in Mexico starting with this weekend's Torneo Fenapo in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

In addition to those events, the Mile High Pro/Am is back on the schedule. The other nine events were also on the schedule last year, including the US Open in Minneapolis and the LPRT Pro Nationals in Virginia, where the season will come to a close next May.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

The Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico ended Friday, and we've got a rundown of all the medalists for you. This was a unique event held in advance of the 2015 Pan American Games to be held in Toronto next July.

Mexico was the big winners keeping five of the medals in the host country with Alvaro Beltran winning two gold - Men's Singles and Men's Doubles with Javier Moreno. Alexandra Herrera and Ximena Gonzalez won Women's Doubles with the other medals going to Daniel De La Rosa - a silver in Men's Singles - and a bronze to Sofia Rascon in Women's Singles.

Ecuador took the other gold medal, as Veronica Sotomayor won Women's Singles. She and Maria Paz Muñoz were bronze medalists in Women's Doubles. The Ecuador men - Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Ugalde - earned bronze in Men's Doubles.

The USA got four medals - three from their men, including a silver and a bronze for Jake Bredenbeck in, respectively, Men's Singles and Doubles (with Jose Diaz) and a bronze for David Horn in Men's Singles. Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli were silver medalist in Women's Doubles.

Maria Jose Vargas had a hand in winning both Argentina's medals, as she was silver medalist in Women's Singles and bronze medalist with Véronique Guillemette in Women's Doubles.

The final two bronze medals went to Frédérique Lambert of Canada in Women's Singles and to Costa Ricans Joaquin Solera and Andrés Aviles Solera in Men's Doubles.

This is the third international competition of the year following the Pan American Championships in April and the World Championships in June. There will be one more international competition with the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games in Velacruz, Mexico in November.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Mexico won three of the four events at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico. The exception was in Women's Singles, where Veronica Sotomayor of Ecuador defeated María José Vargas of Argentina in a tie-breaker, 9-15, 15-11, 11-3.

The win is Sotomayor's first internationally, and is somewhat of a surprise given Vargas finished 3rd on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) last season (Sotomayor was 9th), and won the Pan American Championships in April.

Definitely surprising, a young Mexican team of Alexandra Herrara and Ximena Gonzalez defeated Americans Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli, 15-8, 15-11, in Women's Doubles. Surprising because the Mexicans were playing in their first international tournament at this level, while the Americans were anchored by the veteran Rajsich, who's the LPRT's #2 player.

Gold was guaranteed for Mexico in Men's Singles, as fellow countrymen Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa faced off with Beltran carrying the day, 15-3, 15-0 - injury forfeit. No word on what injury De La Rosa suffered or when it was in the match.

Beltran teamed up with long time partner Javier Morneo and won Men's Doubles also, although American Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz put up a good fight against the former World Champions, who won 15-14, 15-7.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

As expected the Men's Singles final at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico is an all Mexico battle between Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa.

Beltran beat American Jake Bredenbeck in the semi-finals, 15-4, 11-15, 11-9, and De La Rosa defeated American David Horn, 15-11, 15-6, in the other semi.

But Bredenbeck will have another chance at Beltran, as he and Jose Diaz will play Beltran and Javier Moreno in the Men's Doubles final. The Americans defeated Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Ugalde of Ecuador, 15-10, 15-8, in one semi-final, while the Mexicans beat Costa Ricans Joaquin Solera and Andrés Aviles Solera, 15-3, 15-4, in the other.

On the women's side, María José Vargas of Argentina will face off with Veronica Sotomayor of Ecuador in the final, as Vargas beat Sofia Rascon of Mexico, 15-10, 15-2, and Sotomayor defeated Canadian Frédérique Lambert, 15-8, 15-4, in the semi-finals.

But neither Vargas or Sotomayor will be double winners, although both had a chance to be in the Women's Doubles final as well. However, they both lost their semi-final matches in doubles.

Vargas and Véronique Guillemette were beaten by Americans Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli, 10-15, 15-8, 11-8, in one semi-final, and the Mexican team of Alexandra Herrara and Ximena Gonzalez defeated Sotomayor and Maria Paz Muñoz, 15-13, 15-8.

Thus, while they could be a Mexican gold medal sweep in the men's competition, there won't be a sweep in the women's competition.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

The second and fourth seeds are out in Women's Doubles at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico. The young Mexican team of Alexandra Herrara and Ximena Gonzalez defeated the 2nd seeded Bolivians Jenny Daza and Adriana Riveros in the quarterfinals, 15-7, 4-15, 11-6.

The American team of Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli took out the 4th seeds Cristina Amaya and Carolina Gomez of Colombia, 15-11, 11-15, 11-1, and will play the top seeds Maria Jose Vargas and Véronique Guillemette of Argentina in the semi-finals, as Vargas and Guillemette defeated Guatemalans Maria Renee Rodriguez and Ana Gabriela Martinez, 15-10, 15-11.

Third seeds Veronica Sotomayor and Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador beat Canadians Danielle Drury and Valerie Fallu, 15-2, 15-3, in the quarters, and will play Herrera and Gonzalez in the semi-finals on Thursday.

On the men's side, Americans Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz ousted the reigning World Champions Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera of Colombia by coming back from one game down and fighting off match point in the tie-breaker, winning 7-15, 15-5, 11-10.

Also, the Costa Rican team of Joaquin Solera and Andrés Aviles Solera upset the 4th seeds Fernando Kurzbard and Pablo Kurzbard, 15-12, 15-13. They'll play the #1 seeds and former World Champions, Alvaro Beltran and Javier Moreno of Mexico, who defeated Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Mario Mercado, 15-4, 15-5, in the quarters.

Second seeds Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Ugalde of Ecuador beat Selvin Cruz and Moises Romero of Honduras, 15-1, 15-2, and will play the Americans Bredenbeck and Diaz in the semis.

The Men's and Women's Singles semi-finals are almost opposite in their compositions at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico, as there are two Mexico-USA match ups on the men's side and four different countries represented on the women's side, with no Americans in the final four.

We expected Mexicans Alvaro Beltran and Daniel De La Rosa to reach the semis on the men's side. Beltran needed a tie-breaker to defeat Ecuador veteran Fernando Rios in the quarterfinals, and De La Rosa had a close quarterfinal match against Bolivian Carlos Keller, winning 15-13, 15-12.

American Jake Bredenbeck reaching the semis in his first Team USA appearance isn't a big surprise, but he's done it in impressive fashion, as he hasn't lost a game so far, and beat Colombian veteran Alejandro Herrera, 15-0, 15-7, in the quarterfinals.

David Horn - the other American man - faced match point against Coby Iwaasa of Canada, but managed to pull out the match in a tie-breaker, 8-15, 15-14, 11-6.

Thus, it'll be Beltran versus Bredenbeck in one semi and De La Rosa versus Horn in the other.

On the women's side there were two 11-10 tie-breakers Wednesday, and in both the lower seeded player won. In the quarterfinals, Veronica Sotomayor of Ecuador up the 2nd seed American Rhonda Rajsich, 10-15, 15-8, 11-10 to reach the semi-finals, where she will play Canada's Frédérique Lambert.

Lambert had the other 11-10 win, but it came in the Round of 16 against Bolivian Jenny Daza, who won the first game of the match before Lambert came back to win the tie-breaker, taking the match 7-15, 15-6, 11-10. In the quarterfinals, Lambert defeated Lucia Gonzalez of Mexico, 15-11, 15-10.

In the quarterfinals on the top side of the draw, #1 seed Sofia Rascon of Mexico defeated Cristina Amaya of Colombia, 15-10, 15-11, and in a battle of Marias, María José Vargas of Argentina beat Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador, 15-6, 15-11.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Day one of the doubles elimination round is almost done at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico, and few surprises so far.

In a battle of two young teams, Guatemalans Maria Renee Rodriguez and Ana Gabriela Martinez defeated Melania Sauma Masis and Sofia Soley of Costa Rica, 15-12, 15-10, and will play the top seeds Maria Jose Vargas and Véronique Guillemette of Argentina on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

The other quarterfinal on the top of the draw will be as expected with Americans Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli going up against Colombians Cristina Amaya and Carolina Gomez for a place on the podium and chance to make the final.

On the bottom of the draw, Veronica Sotomayor and Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador will play Canadians Danielle Drury and Valerie Fallu, who were winners over Paula Padilla and Lissel Padilla of Honduras, 15-2, 15-4, in the quarters on Wednesday, and Jenny Daza and Adriana Riveros of Bolivia will face the young Mexican team of Alexandra Herrara and Ximena Gonzalez in the quarters.

Alvaro Beltran and Javier Moreno, former World Champions, won their first match in Men's Doubles, as they beat the Panama team of Ricardo Delgado and Yasser Aguilar, 15-7, 15-2, and will face Bolivians Conrado Moscoso and Mario Mercado, who beat Tim Landeryou and Pedro Castro of Canada, 15-5, 15-11, in the quarters.

The first round of the Men's and Women's Singles competition at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico is nearing completion, and there are few surprises so far.

In Women's Singles, the Costa Rican women has significant results, as Sofia Soley upset Hawira Rojas of Bolivia, 15-11, 15-11, and Melania Sauma went tie-breaker with Lissel Padilla of Honduras, winning 15-8, 12-15, 11-7. Soley's next opponent will be Veronica Sotomayor of Ecuador while Sauma will face Colombian Cristina Amaya.

Also on Tuesday, there will be a rematch of one of the dramatic matches from the World Championships in June, when Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador meets Christine Richardson of Canada. At Worlds, Richardson came back from a game down to defeat Muñoz 11-10 in the tie-breaker.

On the men's side, no surprises so far. One of the matches we highlighted earlier is going to happen on Tuesday, when Conrado Moscoso of Bolivia - the silver medalist from the World Championships in June - will play Fernando Rios of Ecuador in the 16.

On Monday, Moscoso defeated Christian Wer of Guatemala, 15-12, 15-4, and Rios had a close win over Noslen Jimenez of Cuba, 15-13, 15-14.

Also, there will be two intra-country showdowns on Tuesday in the Round of 16 as Colombians Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera will face off and Canadians Samuel Murray and Coby Iwaasa will play each other, so only one Colombian or Canadian can make it to the podium.

The elimination draws for doubles at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival racquetball in Guadalajara, Mexico are out, and we've got them for you below.

In Women's Doubles, Maria Jose Vargas and Véronique Guillemette of Argentina are the top seeds, and they will probably need to defeat either the American team of Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli or the Colombian team of Cristina Amaya and Carolina Gomez in the semi-finals to reach the final.

On the bottom of the draw, the other semi-final will probably between Veronica Sotomayor and Maria Paz Muñoz of Ecuador and Jenny Daza and Adriana Riveros of Bolivia, although the young Mexican team of Alexandra Herrara & Ximena Gonzalez could surprise the Bolivians in the quarters.

Alvaro Beltran and Javier Moreno, former World Champions, look good to win in Men's Doubles. They'll need to defeat the Panama team of Ricardo Delgado & Yasser Aguilar in the 16s and then either Tim Landeryou and Pedro Castro of Canada or Conrado Moscoso and Mario Mercado of Bolivia in the quarters.

Their semi-final opponent is uncertain, as the other matches on the top side of the draw could go either way. Joaquin Solera and Andrés Aviles Solera of Costa Rica are playing Edwin Galicia and Manolo Sandoval of Guatemala - previous bronze medalists at the World Championships and Argentines Fernando Kurzbard and Pablo Kurzbard are playing an athletic Cuban team of Noslen Jimenez and Maikel Mollet Suarez.

There's uncertainty on the bottom of the draw, but the podium spots will likely go to either the Americans Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz, Colombians Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera, who are the World Champions, or the Ecuador team of Fernando Rios and Jose Daniel Ugalde.

The elimination draws for the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival racquetball in Guadalajara, Mexico are out, and we've got them for you below.

In Men's Singles, there's a set up for an all Mexico final between Alvaro Beltran - the #1 seed - and Daniel De La Rosa - #3 seed. But there are some interesting potential match-ups along the way, including Conrado Moscoso of Bolivia - the silver medalist from the World Championships in June - playing Fernando Rios of Ecuador in the 16s.

Also, American Jake Bredenbeck has a good chance to reach the podium in his first international tournament, but he'll probably have to go through
Felipe Camacho of Costa Rica and one of the Colombians: Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera, who will likely playoff in the 16s.

On the bottom of the draw, De La Rosa will probably need to defeat Bolivia's Carlos Keller in the quarter finals, and American David Horn could reach the podium but a Canadian will likely be in his way, as Coby Iwaasa and Samuel Murray will probably be face-off in the 16s.

In Women's Singles, top seed Sofia Rascon of Mexico will probably need to defeat Colombian Cristina Amaya in the quarterfinals to reach the podium. But to get to the final, either of them will likely need to defeat María José Vargas of Argentina.

On the bottom of the draw, one quarterfinal will likely be Rhonda Rajsich of the USA and Veronica Sotomayor of Ecuador, but the other is less certain. Mexican Lucia Gonzalez is the 3rd seed and will probably play American Da'monique Davis in the 16s while the other Round of 16 match will be probably be between Canadian Frédérique Lambert and Bolivian Jenny Daza.

Monday, August 4, 2014

The group stage has come to an end at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival racquetball in Guadalajara, and there were some interesting results on Monday.

On the men's side, the most significant result was the upset of the Men's Doubles World Champions - Colombians Sebastian Franco and Alejandro Herrera, who lost to the Costa Rican team of Joaquin Solera and Andrés Aviles Solera, 15-10, 15-7.

In women's action, Ecuador's Maria Paz Muñoz had two big wins Monday, as she defeated Canadian Frédérique Lambert, 15-9, 15-5, in Women's Singles, and then in Women's Doubles beat the American team of Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli, 11-15, 15-6, 11-8, with partner Veronica Sotomayor.

Also of note, María José Vargas of Argentina beat American Da'monique Davis, 15-11, 10-15, 11-9. That win should give Vargas the 4th seed in the elimination draw. Muñoz's win should put her 5th.

But only the top two seeds are guaranteed their spots in the elimination draw, as there are two possibilities for the other players and the choice between the possibilities is made after completion of competition within a division is finished. This eliminates any gamesmanship by players who might try to lose a match in order to get a better seeding.

Thus, another significant result on Monday was the win by Vargas and Véronique Guillemette (Argentina) over Alexandra Herrara and Ximena Gonzalez (Mexico), 5-15, 15-13, 11-5, in Women's Doubles, as the Mexicans were the top seed, so the Argentines should become #1 seed for the elimination draw.

We'll have those elimination draws for you as soon as they are available.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Day two of the singles competition at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival racquetball in Guadalajara has resulted in one upset, as Costa Rican Melania Sauma defeated Canadian Christine Richardson, 15-14, 15-13, in Women's Singles.

Also of note in the doubles, the young Guatemalan team of Maria Renee Rodriguez and Ana Gabriela Martinez pushed the American team of Rhonda Rajsich and Devon Pimentelli to tie-breaker before losing, 15-14, 10-15, 11-6.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

The first day of competition at the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival racquetball in Guadalajara is over, and there was only one upset, as the players began three days of pool play to set up the seedings for an elimination round of competition that will conclude next Saturday.

Here's the list of matches that will kick-off the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) Sports Festival racquetball competition today in Guadalajara. There will be three days of pool play to set up the seedings for an elimination round of competition that will conclude next Saturday.